Hamlet Group

Question:

mardia
mardia
Student
High School - 11th Grade

In Act 3 of "Hamlet", the prince says, "I must be cruel to be kind." Does he sound sincere?

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Posted by mardia on Thursday November 6, 2008 at 6:57 PM and tagged with act 3 scene 4, cruel to be kind, hamlet, quotes, sincerity.

Answers:


  1. gbeatty Teacher
    College - Freshman

    eNotes Editor

    Hamlet's whole speech in Act III, Scene 4 is as follows: 

    I do repent: but heaven hath pleased it so,
    To punish me with this and this with me,
    That I must be their scourge and minister.
    I will bestow him, and will answer well
    The death I gave him. So, again, good night.
    I must be cruel, only to be kind:
    Thus bad begins and worse remains behind.


    One word more, good lady. He's just killed a man—and a man he's known for a long time, perhaps his whole life, given the age of Polonius. He's also confronting his mother on a ghost's demands. I therefore think he wants to be sincere, and that he's trying to sound sincere in order to convince himself, but that mostly he sounds frantic.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/act-iii-scene-4-summary-anal...
    http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/character-analysis

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    Posted by gbeatty on Friday November 7, 2008 at 8:28 AM